Delivered October 28, 2012
There
is a cartoon that shows a crowd of people streaming out the doors of a church
sanctuary dressed only in their underclothing: men in their boxer shorts, women
in their slips . . . One parishioner turns to another and says, "That was
the best stewardship sermon I ever heard."
I am afraid that is the way that many people approach Pledge Sunday. They
come to expecting the preacher to try to get them to give the shirt off their
back. Therefore people might be on their guard on this Sunday, feeling the need
to protect their wallets and bank accounts from the rhetorical skills of that crafty
fellow in the pulpit who is trying to get them to give more money than they
would like. I won’t lie to you. I do hope that as a result of my efforts and
the Stewardship Board’s efforts that people might open their checkbooks and
pledge a little more to the church than they were originally planning to do. But
I am not a manipulator, and I don’t browbeat people or try to make them feel
guilty. I certainly do not want people to give more than they are able. I trust
this congregation to do the right thing when it comes to financial giving.
I
also think that it is helpful in this regard to understand what the scriptures
say about offerings. So today we are going to examine one particular offering
in the Bible. There are lots of offerings mentioned in the OT, and those are
worth looking at. But today I am going to look at one offering in the NT that
the apostle Paul mentions in his letters. It is mentioned in the text that is
the theme for this year’s stewardship campaign – I Corinthians 16:1-4. It is
also mentioned in a couple of other places in Paul’s letters, so I will be
referring to those passages as well. This was an offering that the apostle was
collecting from several churches. You could call it a special mission offering.
He was going around to the churches in Greece, Macedonia and Turkey and
encouraging them to contribute to one particular mission cause. In promoting
this offering the apostle tells us some important things about all church
offerings. There are five things he says about the offering.
1.
First is the Purpose of the Gift. The purpose of this offering is to minister
to the saints. This is the phrase the apostle Paul uses in his Letter to the
Romans. “But now I am going to Jerusalem
to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to
make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in
Jerusalem.” He uses the same phrase in 2 Corinthians 9. “Now concerning the ministering to the
saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you.” This particular offering was a collection
taken for the poor in Jerusalem. We don’t really know much more about it than
that. We know from the Book of Acts that the early church in Jerusalem had a
special ministry to the poor. They had an extensive food program where they
served meals to people in need – especially widows who did not have families to
support them. In fact the first deacons of the church were chosen for the
purpose of waiting on tables at this food ministry.
Urban
areas always have a larger number of poor folks. At the Dinner Bell ministry
that our church does at Saint Andrews Church in Tamworth, we serve perhaps a
dozen people or a bit more. When I pastored a church in Lowell Mass we regularly
served well over a hundred people at the Soup Kitchen we had at the YMCA. We
serve at the Dinner Bell, we supply the local Food Bank, and we have a
discretionary fund to help people in town. We also do ministry to the larger
world through the CROP walk and Blanket Sunday and things like this. So we have
a respectable ministry to the hungry, but it is not a large ministry in our
rural area.
Jerusalem
was an urban area with a lot of poor. The church in Jerusalem was not a huge
congregation, especially after persecution started, which was very early in the
Book of Acts. A lot of people had to flee for their lives after the persecution
started. In fact it says that those first seven deacons had to leave Jerusalem when
the persecution began because as leaders they were targeted for death. One of
them – Stephen - was killed by an angry mob. The apostle James was killed. Even
though Jerusalem was the church of the apostles, after persecution broke out it
was not a big church. And it was not a rich church. A lot of the church people
were poor, and they also ministered to other poor folks. Therefore the apostle
Paul took it upon himself to help them out; he tried to raise some money from
other churches for the poor in Jerusalem. He called it “ministering to the
saints.” I think that is a good phrase to describe all types of church work.
Basically a church worships God and ministers to people in our congregation and
the community. We minister to the saints – to people’s spiritual, emotional and
physical needs.
2.
Second is the Motivation for the Offering. Why do we give money to the work of
God through the church? One reason is Gratitude. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, “you are enriched in everything for all
liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the
administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but
also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God….” So we give out of
gratitude. The liberality of God’s giving to us prompts a liberality of
thanksgiving in us.
Think
of what God has done for us. Think of how God has blessed our lives in
spiritual ways. And he has been doing this for a couple of centuries through
the Baptist and Methodist churches in Sandwich that now make up the Federated
Church. There were also Congregational churches in Sandwich which in time
closed and the people became part of this Federated Church. This church has
been carrying on a Christian witness in this community for many years. It has
blessed our lives and countless generations of lives in this town. Giving our
offerings to the work of this church is our way of showing our gratitude with
our material gifts for what God has for us spiritually in our live and in others’
lives over the years through the religious community in Sandwich.
Another
motivation is zeal. This is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 9 in another passage
where this offering is mentioned. “Now
concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to
you; for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the
Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the
majority.” The Christians in Greece had a zeal for giving to ministry. They
had a great willingness to share their financial resources. This is not
something that we can manufacture by ourselves or even something that a
preacher can incite in a congregation. This is something that God creates in
our hearts and souls. The financial giving that we do for the work of God comes
from deep in our hearts and souls.
Paul
talks a little bit later in this passage about how God loves a cheerful giver
and not a begrudging giver. He writes: “So
let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity;
for God loves a cheerful giver.” This is why I don’t not to make people
feel guilty in order to get them to give more. Our offerings need to come from joy
and love that overflows from our hearts. If God is working in our lives, then
one of the fruits of that divine presence is a joy in giving generously. Paul
describes it in 2 Cor 9 as a “matter of
generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”
3.
Next is the Timing of the Offering. (We have talked about the Purpose of the
Offering and the Motivation of the offering. Now is the Timing of the
Offering.) Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16,
“2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside,
storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” The
offering is set aside on the first day of the week. This has significance in
two ways. First, we do it early. We do not give to God what is leftover at the
end of the week. You don’t give God the leftovers. Leftovers from Thanksgiving
or Christmas dinner, might be good. In fact I like them. We would not offer to
a guest in our home food that has been sitting in the refrigerator for a week
or so. We may eat leftovers ourselves for a few days, but after a week it
probably getting pretty ripe.
But
when it comes to bringing something to God when we come to his house to worship
Him, we offer the best we have. We put aside something on the first day of the
week. The OT offerings were the firstfruits of the field and the firstborn of
the flock and herd. We give to God the first and the best. Our offering to him
is the first thing on our list financially– not last. We don’t wait until we
get to church and then see how much we happen to have in our wallets. We plan
our gift to God ahead of time. Just like we would plan a gift to anyone we
love. If I am going to give my grandchild or child or wife a birthday present,
I don’t wait until the birthday party and see what I might have sitting around
the house that I can regift, or give the two year old a few bucks out of my
wallet. I plan my gift and give it some thought. I wrap it and present it with
love. Should not our gift to God be as thoughtful and as planned?
I
work on my finances every Saturday morning. I sit down at my computer with my
Microsoft Money program and I pay my bills, balance my checking account and
credit cards monthly, and update my investment accounts quarterly. Jude knows
that examining our income and expenses can put me in a very bad mood. I ask her
for any receipts she has in her wallet from that week, and if I need a suitcase
to carry them to my office she knows to tread lightly the rest of the day. I
confess that money can disturb my normally even-tempered personality. But
regardless of the state of our finances that week, I always write out my tithe
to the church first. I don’t say, “Sorry, Lord too many bills this week. There
is nothing left. I’ll catch you next time around.” God is faithful to me, and I
strive to be faithful to God.
Another
reason why we are to put aside our gifts to God on the first day of the week is
because it is Lord’s Day. The first day of the week is Sunday, the day that early
Christians gathered together to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This is
why we worship today on Sudah and not on Saturday, which is the OT Sabbath. So
there is a theological connection between the offering and the first day. The
Bible calls Jesus’ the “firstborn of the dead’ and “the firstfuits of those who
have fallen asleep.” He wrotes, “But now
Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep.” Every Sunday when we
come to church we are reminded of the resurrection of Christ. Every Sunday is a
little Easter. We remember that we have been redeemed from sin and death at a
great price. Sunday reminds us that our salvation was not cheap. It cost Jesus
his life, given in pain and suffering and much sacrifice. What is that worth to
us? That is what the first day of the week means.
4.
Fourth is the Amount of the Offering. I know this is what you have been waiting
for! You want me to tell you how much to give. Sorry, I won’t do that. That is
up to you and God. I will tell you the guidelines the Bible gives for our
giving. The guideline is the tithe. Tithe means one tenth of our income. If you
want a percentage amount – that is the biblical benchmark by which we measure
our giving. Whether you give that much or not is up to you and God. No one here
is looking over your shoulder or judging you. I certainly don’t. No one can
judge another person’s financial condition or resources. If you want to give a
partial tithe or gradually work up to a tithe or just forget the tithe
altogether, that is your choice. But the tithe is the scriptural standard.
At
lot of people think that 10% is way too much too give. People can get as
agitated about giving a tithe to the church as do about the Federal tax rate.
You listen to the presidential debates, and you think the election is all about
taxes. There is even a constitutional amendment this year on our New Hampshire
ballot to outlaw a state income tax permanently in our state. Tax is an
emotional issue; so is the tithe. But the tithe is not a tax. A tax is a law.
As Christians we are not under the OT law of the tithe. But if we are trying to
decide how much to give, then the tithe is a good number to start with when we
are planning our giving to the church.
I
have had people ask me if that ten percent is based on gross income or net
income. Before taxes or after taxes? Does that tithe include the amounts they
give to other charitable giving that they list on their taxes? I don’t answer
such questions. If we are too calculating in our gifts, something gets lost. I
see people pull out a calculator at restaurants to figure out the tip to leave
the server. Maybe you are bad at math and you have to do that. Personally I estimate
it in my head. I always give somewhere between 15-20%, and I always err on the
side of generosity when it comes to the tip. Why not do the same when it comes
to God?
5.
The final point is the Presentation of the Offering. I have a niece who is a
professional chef in downtown Boston. She got a culinary degree from Johnson
& Wales. When we were in England a few years ago doing a sabbatical at
Oxford University, she was doing an internship at an upscale hotel outside
London. We got to meet up with her in England and do some sightseeing together;
that was fun. Her specialty is desserts. In desserts, as in all the culinary
arts, presentation is important. In the religious life, presentation of the
offering is important. It is part of our worship of God. We could raise money
in other ways like other organizations do, but for us it is about more than
money. It is about worship.
In
this Jerusalem offering, Paul wanted to present it personally to the church in
Judea. He also thought it was important that the Corinthian church send someone
with him. He says in our passage: “And
when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift
to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.” Paul thought it was important that the gift
be presented personally. It is not just about the money. God does not need
money; all the riches in the universe already belong to God! He wants us. And
he does not want us by force or coercion or manipulation. He wants us to offer
ourselves freely to him. And one way to do that is to offer our gifts freely
and personally to him. That is how a church should take an offering.
No comments:
Post a Comment